Every patient considering weight loss surgery has questions: ?What happens during surgery?? ?Where exactly is the gastric band going to go?? ?How much of my stomach will still be working after the operation??

These questions deserve answers, but medicine is a complex subject, and a simple answer can quickly become a confusing (and time-wasting) mess for both of you. As a bariatric surgeon, you face the unenviable task of communicating the complexities of surgical procedure to patients and potential patients.

?But that's what I have a website for!? you say. Yes, a website can be a useful tool for educating and informing the public as part of your bariatric marketing efforts. But, if your site is a turgid mass of words, no one is going to read it. Study after study shows that web users nowadays simply are not interested in endless blocks of copy. It's not that modern patients are illiterate or suffering from attention-deficit disorder; it's that they have come to expect a deeper connection, a more direct form of information, than words on a screen can provide.

Online video is the answer. With it, you can cut through the fog of doctor jargon and patient anxiety, making it crystal clear to each patient or potential patient exactly what you are going to do in a way they will instantly ?get?. Online video lets you inform patients about different procedures, introduce them to key members of your practice, and establish an emotional connection and foundation of trust before they ever walk through the door. Online video is everywhere on the web ? and if you're not providing it, you're not communicating.

Numerous marketing consultants specializing in the growing bariatric field are now incorporating the addition of online video content into the overall marketing strategy for their clients. For example, Dallas-based Bariatric Marketing, Inc. partners with one of the leading video production facilities in the area to provide bariatric doctors and surgical centers with a trustworthy resource for cost-effective, broadcast quality video content. By including video as part of a broader strategic plan, the firm can also ensure that the messaging dovetails with other promotional efforts, including print and radio advertising, while creating an additional level of engagement between the client's practice and prospective patients.

Online video programming gives you a fighting chance to answer the questions posed by patients and patients-to-be ? and drive patient flow from the web to your front door. By adding informative and welcoming videos to your online presence, you can really put your website to work!